Copyright American Press
Barbe used its high-powered offense to secure a playoff spot in the Bucs’ final game of the high school football regular season on Friday. The Bucs (5-5, 4-3) beat District 3-5A rival Sam Houston 70-45. Barbe’s 70 points and 653 yards of total offense were their best this season. The win was enough to bump the Bucs, who have won four consecutive games, up four spots to No. 26 in Nonselect Division I to make the playoffs. Junior quarterback Jelandon Gray and running back Jordin Griffin powered the Bucs offense. With his powerful running style, Griffin broke multiple tackles almost every time he touched the ball and scored six times on runs of 11, 47, 60, 33, 40 and 8 yards. He finished with 289 yards on 20 carries. Gray tossed three touchdown passes to bring his season total to 30 and completed 20 of 27 passes for 293 yards. Sam Houston’s (3-7, 2-5) E.J. Hanney set the tone for the high-scoring game when he returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for the first score. He also scored on a 32-yard run. Quarterback Gavin Breaux rushed for 223 yards on 21 carries and scored on runs of 66 and 69 yards. He passed for 138 yards, including TD passes of 35 and 25 yards to Michael Calloura and Cooper Wiersema, respectively. Down to the wire Vinton (8-2, 3-0) won its first district championship since 2006 thanks to a last-second score. Quarterback Michael Lange scored on a 2-yard run with 28 seconds left, and Vinton beat rival DeQuincy 21-17 for the District 4-2A title. DeQuincy (4-6, 2-1) took a 17-14 lead with 1:31 left in the game on Christopfer Contreras’ 23-yard field goal. Nigile Ceasar scored twice for the Tigers and had 151 yards on 23 carries. Perfect champs Iowa, Kinder and Hamilton Christian all ended the regular season undefeated and district champions. Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 2A No. 7 Kinder (10-0, 4-0) trashed Avoyelles 48-6 for the District 5-2A title. Quarterback Isaiah Thomas had four rushing TDs and two passing. He ran for 152 yards on 11 carries and completed 8 of 17 passes for 182 yards. Class 4A No. 4 Iowa (10-0, 5-0), the fourth-ranked team in the LSWA Class 4A poll, beat DeRidder 47-14 on Thursday, led by seniors J’vien Adams (11 carries, 168 yds., 3 TDs) and Jeremiah Bushnell (3 receptions, 124 yds., 2 TDs). Class 1A No. 2 Hamilton Christian (9-0, 5-0) beat Basile 39-13 on Thursday for the first perfect season in program history. Quarter Javon Vital accounted for five TDs, including his fifth punt return TD.
